Ysgol Bro Gwaun

I LOVE THIS SCHOPOL SO MUCH HOORAY

I can honestly say that most of my trauma comes from this place, and I haven’t stepped foot here since 2020. I did experience severe bullying (verbal harassment/ name calling, frequent violence), and general social exclusion, which obviously as a teenager felt like the end of the world. Luckily with hindsight, and a lot of therapy, I can now reflect that it wasn’t. But during such a formative developmental stage, it’s difficult to comprehend that you’ll be able to move on/dismantle some of the prejudice and internalised judgment put on you. While I do try to not let it follow me now, truthfully the lack of support from the schools teachers & system made year 7-11 some of the toughest times of my life. Looking back, I do question if my difficult experience was more of cultural thing. But reading some of these reviews made me realise that the school almost exists in an echo chamber, which only enables mainly straight, white, able-bodied people to truly flourish. So I think that if your identity intersects outside of these normative pillars, your ‘difference’ is going to be somewhat brought to the forefront of your school life. So you’re frequently othered, either overtly or covertly, by other students and teachers. Which perhaps explains some of the experiences I had. This can be really difficult to process/ deal with, at a young age - some people would say it’s a part of growing up. Yet for myself, and a lot of my peers, fishguard school was an extremely bruising experience. I acknowledge that perhaps poc, LGBTQ, and neurodivergent students may represent a smaller statistic in the schools cohort, but it is integral that the teachers/school system are equipped to care/ understand/ support the needs of marginalised students within such a predominantly white, straight, gender-normative rural area. I was really torn on whether to write this review - but I truly hope that someone within the school reads this, and implements some positive changes based on some of the students experiences :)

Not the best but I still enjoy it here staff dont care about your mental health and happiness not much activitys for people to do at lunch

This school doesn't care about bullying and if you are apart of the LGBTQ then don't go here as you get bullied a lot and teachers don't do anything about it and they also don't care about your mental health and happiness they don't notice if your unhappy or acting unusual and if the popular kids bullying you they will always pick them over you and if they see this mention what I said in assembly because a lot of the students will agree with me

my time in this school was poor because they dont treat everyone equally they care more about the school image than the bullying there were a select few of the teachers I remember enjoying there lessons but the bullying, if you are apart of the LGBTQ+ your basically going to be bullied dont recommend going to this school if you are apart of the LGBTQ+. I remember the time when someone stole my bag and I took their coat GUESS WHAT because he was the favourite he got away while I got screamed at.

Literally so bad teachers care more about vapes and Pearcing than actual problems and when you have a problem they don’t listen but then come with things that got nothing to do with them

During my time at this school I was allowed by the teachers who were fully informed of my situation to be bullied from year 7 to year 11. My mental wellbeing and health spiralled when attending this school and I believe many others who attended may relate. The lessons are good and informative, with the teachers being very strict on their image and representation. However the sports are sexist, with the boys doing rugby and the girls doing hockey and using the indoor exercise equipment. Any bullying was never dealt with by the teachers as favouritism is heavy in this school. If you are a person of colour or a member of the LGBTQ+ community then I would not recommend this school as they do nothing to resolve the bullying that will take place. Any parent complaints of bullying go unacknowledged. The schools image is immaculate, with them pushing their new technology and the new building into every promotion. They also provide a safe area called harbwr for those living with difficulties and do have many ways of making education easier for those struggling. To me the inside life of ysgol bro gwaun is cold and lonely, with each day of the year slowly passing by, though many popular students may disagree as they were the favourites. I give this school an average only for the education not the environment.